LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey has entered the chat.
After the Tigers’ 101-71 win over Tulane on Monday, Mulkey opened her press conference with a nod to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin amid reports that he’s in the mix for the head coaching gigs at Florida and LSU’s football programs.
“Let me see who made the drive over to New Orleans,” Mulkey said as she looked around the room — jokingly chiding reporters as Baton Rouge is about a 90-minute drive to Tulane.
“Let’s see, who’s here from Baton Rouge? Three? Y’all will always have my love, and I will give you first interviews. Four of you. I see who’s here.
“I know y’all back home are trying to figure out if we’re going to hire Lane Kiffin. Whoa! Got to get the first news![I] hate to tell you, Lane was at Gainesville [on Sunday].”
She was referring to Ole Miss’ 34-24 win over the Florida Gators on Saturday.
It came after LSU and Florida, two powerhouse programs with high-profile openings, reportedly flew Kiffin’s family to Baton Rouge and Gainesville for visits.
Kiffin reportedly wasn’t on either trip.
According to The Advocate, Kiffin flew to Baton Rouge on Monday and toured the city before visiting Gainesville on Sunday.
Both programs are looking to fill their head coach vacancies after Florida fired Billy Napier in October. LSU parted ways with Brian Kelly a week later.
During a Tuesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Kiffin denied a report by The Athletic that Ole Miss has given him an ultimatum to decide on his future before the next Rebels game against rival Mississippi State on Nov. 28.
“There has been no ultimatum, anything like that at all,” Kiffin said. “I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there… We’re having a blast. I love it here.”
Kiffin emphasized that his focus is on the 10-1 Rebels.
“It just couldn’t be better. Like I said, you pray for things. Our fans prayed for this type of thing and now we’re in the middle of it, so enjoy it,” Kiffin said. “You’re 10-1, you’re getting ready, you’ve got a bye week, you get to watch half the country lose — and there’s no way we can lose Saturday. And then you play the Egg Bowl and go dominate that and keep that Egg Bowl trophy home where it’s been for a long time.”
The No. 6-ranked Rebels will likely lock in a spot in the College Football Playoff with a win over Mississippi State next week.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
